Under a headline "Cullen's Shock Move Hinders Airport Bid" Fran O'Sullivan reports in today's NZ Herald on yesterday's changes to New Zealand's overseas investment regime. The article describes the Government's actions as "unexpected" - but were they? Fran's column in the Herald on Sunday in fact suggested that the Government was planning to move to stop the Auckland Airport bid. Maybe the shock and surprise is over the breadth of the new policy (you can probably kiss goodbye to any big PPP infrastructure projects while this regulation is in place - an Auckland motorway link to the airport travelling under the PM's electorate would seem to be "strategically important infrastructure on sensitive land.")
We will explore the implications of the desperate act by Government later on today.
